Rates on US Treasury bills unchanged at auction

Rates on US Treasury bills unchanged with 6-month bills at lowest level since January

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were unchanged in Monday's auction with rates on six-month bills holding at the lowest level since late January.

The Treasury Department auctioned $35 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.075 percent, unchanged from last week. Another $30 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.105 percent, also unchanged from last week.

The three-month rate was at the lowest level since three-month bills averaged 0.070 percent on Feb. 4. The six-month rate was at the lowest level since six-month bills averaged 0.095 percent on Jan. 22.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,998.08 while a six-month bill sold for $9,994.69. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.076 percent for the three-month bills and 0.107 percent for the six-month bills.

Separately the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, edged down to 0.14 percent last week from 0.15 percent in the previous week.